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Home , Holy Roman Empire, Spanish Netherlands

Political Developments in 1450-1750 Objectives

* Understand how , Portugal, The , , England, and the nations of changed politically during the time period 1450-1750

*Understand the rise of absolutism (absolute monarchs) in Europe Rise of ABSOLUTISM (Absolute Monarchs) in Europe

*ABSOLUTISM- political theory that maintains leaders should have all political power without limits

*Absolute leaders attempt to control all aspects of their and demand complete allegiance from subjects- no dissent is tolerated

*Often claimed divine right Rise of ABSOLUTISM (Absolute Monarchs) in Europe What factors led to absolutism in Europe?

● Late increased the power of , decreased the power of ● , humanism, led to increased scrutiny of the Church ● Decline of , rise of national kingdoms, urbanization led to increased centralized power ● Growing middle class supported kings- stable was good for business ● Monarchs supported merchants’ endeavors ● Constant warfare in Europe- need for protection and support strengthened the influence of kings Spain Spain’s territory in Europe in 1550

Charles V ( of Spain) divided this territory between:

-His brother Ferdinand ( and the Holy Roman )

-His son Philip II (Spain, the , and Spain’s American colonies) Spain Spain under Philip II (1556-1598)

● 1580- Seized Portugal after the Portuguese king died without an heir (Philip II was his nephew)- took control of Portugal’s global empire too ● Great wealth mainly from the American colonies was used to bulk up Spain’s army and navy: ○ Wanted to defend Catholicism from Muslims and Protestants ○ 1571: Defeated the in a naval battle ○ 1588: (huge fleet of ships) sent to punish Protestant England (England’s queen, , had supported Protestants who had rebelled against Philip) ■ Superior English warships, armed with long-range cannons, defeated the Armada- led to Spain’s decline Spain Spain under Philip II (1556-1598)

Spanish

Armada Spain

Even though Spain’s Armada was defeated by England, it still appeared to be wealthy...at least for a little while longer…

*Philip’s grand , the Escorial, demonstrated his power and wealth

*Monarchs and nobles also used wealth to patronize the arts- led to Spain’s Golden Age

-Painters: El Greco, Diego Velazquez

-Literature: Quixote (1605)- often called modern Europe’s first novel Spain

El Greco painting Spain

Diego Velazquez painting Spain

The Escorial Spain Weakening of the

● ECONOMIC:

○ Huge influx of silver led to inflation- the value of Spain’s currency fell, prices rose = economic decline ○ Also, Spain’s population grew, which resulted in more people needing products. More demand= merchants could higher prices ○ Expelling of Jews and Muslims in the Inquisition resulted in many talented artisans leaving Spain ○ Spain’s nobles didn’t have to pay taxes, so the tax burden fell on lower classes (couldn’t gain wealth due to this burden) ○ Many Spanish products still produced by using old-fashioned methods, which resulted in high prices. Spanish consumers bought lower-priced goods from Spain’s enemies (France, England) Spain Weakening of the Spanish Empire

● POLITICAL

○ Defeat of the Spanish Armada ○ - break away from Spain in 1579 ■ Religious differences: Spain was Catholic, Netherlands was mostly Protestant ■ Philip raised taxes in Netherlands, tried to end ■ Result: Protestant rebellion against Philip ■ Northern became the United Provinces of the Netherlands ■ Southern provinces, mainly Catholic, remained with Spain- would later become The Netherlands ● As opposed to Spain, the Netherlands, a Protestant country, had a prosperous middle class ● Practiced religious toleration ● Not a kingdom, but a (each had an elected governor, whose power depended on support from merchants and landowners) ● In the , basically replaced Italy as the banking and trading powerhouse of Europe ● Like Italy in the 1400s, merchants sponsored artists such as Rembrandt The Netherlands

Rembrandt painting The Netherlands

Rembrandt painting The Netherlands

● Stability of the government in the Netherlands enabled the Dutch economy and middle class to thrive ● Dutch had the largest fleet of merchant ships in the world by 1636- enabled the Dutch to successfully monopolize the spice trade in Indonesia FRANCE

● From 1562-1598, Catholics and French Protestants () fought each other in religious conflicts ● Chaotic environment ● 1572: St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre- sparked a 6 week slaughter of Huguenots FRANCE

● 1589: Henry IV, a Huguenot, became King of France ● Strengthened the monarchy ● Converted to Catholicism to peace in France ● 1598: Edict of Nantes- granted religious toleration to Huguenots ● Henry was killed by a religious fanatic in 1610 FRANCE

● Experience with religious and growth in France’s political power led to the development of skepticism in France- a movement that believed nothing can ever be known for certain ○ Religious doubt ○ Questioned old ideas ○ Michel de Montaigne- expressed his ideas in a new form, the essay FRANCE

● Henry IV’s grandson, Louis XIV, assumed the throne in 1643 at just 4 years old ● While growing up, ruled France ● Nobles frequently rioted, threatened young king’s life ● When Louis XIV took control at 22 (in 1661), he vowed to become so powerful that the nobles would not be able to challenge him FRANCE

● Louis XIV- “The Sun King” ● Said “L’etat c’est moi” - “I am the ” ● Most powerful ruler in French history ● Townspeople were weary of fighting in France (both religious and political)- accepted an absolute ruler as preferable to disorder

FRANCE LOUIS XIV- “THE SUN KING”

● Louis XIV weakened the power of nobles by excluding them from his councils ● Increased the power of government agents called intendants, who collected taxes and administered justice- communicated regularly with them ● Goal was to help France achieve political, economic, and cultural brilliance FRANCE

LOUIS XIV- “THE SUN KING”

● Economically, tried to make France self-sufficient by encouraging mercantilism ● Encouraged people to move to Canada- fur trade added to French wealth ● Canceled the Edict of Nantes- Huguenots left France in large numbers FRANCE

LOUIS XIV- “THE SUN KING”

● Lived an extremely extravagant lifestyle ● Had a grand palace constructed at Versailles- demonstrated his wealth ● Had nobles live with him at Versailles- made them completely reliant on him ● Patronized the arts, made opera and ballet more popular FRANCE

LOUIS XIV- “THE SUN KING”

● Lived an extremely extravagant lifestyle ● Had a grand palace constructed at Versailles- demonstrated his wealth ● Had nobles live with him at Versailles- made them completely reliant on him ● Patronized the arts, made opera and ballet more popular FRANCE

LOUIS XIV- “THE SUN KING”

● Lived an extremely extravagant lifestyle ● Had a grand palace constructed at Versailles- demonstrated his wealth ● Had nobles live with him at Versailles- made them completely reliant on him ● Patronized the arts, made opera and ballet more popular FRANCE

LOUIS XIV- “THE SUN KING”

● Under Louis, France was the most powerful country in Europe ● 1667: France invaded Spanish Netherlands (Belgium), gained new ● 1672: Invaded Dutch Netherlands, failed when the Dutch released the dikes, flooding the countryside FRANCE

LOUIS XIV- “THE SUN KING”

● : Other European countries (England, Spain, , Austria) banded together to form the League of to oppose France ● By this time, France was weakened by poor harvests and heavy taxation put on the people to finance wars FRANCE

LOUIS XIV- “THE SUN KING”

● 1701-1714: of Spanish Succession ● 1700: Childless king of Spain had died; promised throne to Louis XIV’s grandson ● Other European nations fought France to prevent it from becoming too powerful FRANCE

LOUIS XIV- “THE SUN KING”

● 1701-1714: War of Spanish Succession ● 1714: Treaty of was signed- Louis’s grandson could stay king of Spain as long as the thrones of Spain and France were not united ● Britain won big: got Gibraltar and an asiento (permission from Spain to send African slaves to the Americas); Britain also got some French territories in North America like Nova Scotia and the Hudson Bay region ● Louis XIV died in 1715 to cheers from his own people after he had brought suffering to France ENGLAND

● In England, rulers had more barriers to becoming absolute monarchs ● Had to deal with Parliament- since Parliament controlled England’s treasury, frequent conflict between the and Parliament over money ● After Elizabeth I’s (1558-1603), England was firmly Protestant (Anglican Church) ● Many in England wanted the Anglican Church to abandon Catholic-inspired rituals; these people were called Puritans (wanted to “purify” the Anglican Church)- led to religious tension ● Like the rest of Europe, warfare was a constant theme in England during the 16th-18th centuries ENGLAND

● 1625- Charles I took the throne ● Wanted money to fight Spain and France ● 1628: Parliament refused to grant him money until he signed a document called the Petition of Right which acknowledged: ○ He would not imprison subjects without due cause ○ He would not levy taxes without Parliament’s consent ○ He would not house soldiers in private homes ○ He would not impose martial law in peacetime ● Charles I agreed to the Petition of Right, then ignored it ● Still, the idea was important: the law was higher than the king ● 1629: Charles I dissolved Parliament, raised money by imposing more fines on the people ENGLAND

● Charles I became very unpopular ● Angered Puritans by keeping rituals in the Anglican Church, tried to force Presbyterian Scots to accept the Anglican prayer book- Scots rebelled, threatened to invade England ● 1641: Parliament passed more laws to limit royal power; Charles I tried to have Parliament leaders arrested ● England was now split between Royalists (loyal to Charles) and Puritan supporters of Parliament ENGLAND

● 1642-1649 English Civil War ● Puritans fought Royalists ● Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan general, proved to make the difference- Puritans won ● 1649: Charles found guilty for treason against Parliament, executed (first public execution of a monarch) ENGLAND ENGLAND

OLIVER CROMWELL’S RULE (1649-1658)

● Disbanded Parliament and the monarchy- established a commonwealth (a republican form of government) with a written (the first written constitution of any European state)- later ignored it ● Cromwell became a military dictator ● Ireland, which had been colonized by England since the , held an uprising- Cromwell crushed it ● Sought Puritan reforms of society; extended toleration to all except Catholics ENGLAND

● 1658- Cromwell died ● A new Parliament was selected ● 1659-Charles I’s son, Charles II, was selected to be the next ruler ● Since Charles II restored the monarchy, his rule was called the Restoration ● Habeas corpus was established- the right of prisoners to know what charges are being brought against them; no one could be thrown in jail just for opposing the ruler, and could not be held indefinitely without trial ENGLAND

● 1685: Charles II died ● His son, James II, a Catholic, became king ● James outraged Puritans by appointing Catholics to high office and disbanding Parliament ● Parliament leaders invited James’ daughter, Mary, wife of William of Orange, ruler of the Netherlands, to overthrow James II for the sake of Protestantism ● 1688: William of Orange invaded England, James II fled- called the

Glorious Revolution ENGLAND

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE

● William and Mary vowed to recognize Parliament as their partner in power ● England had officially become a constitutional monarchy (laws limited rulers’ power) ● After 1688, no British ruler could rule without consent of Parliament, and Parliament could not rule without consent of the monarch ENGLAND

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION

● 1689- Parliament drafted the English Bill of Rights, which specified that rulers could not: ○ Suspend Parliament’s laws ○ Levy taxes without permission from Parliament ○ Interfere with freedom of speech in Parliament ○ Impose penalties for citizens who express grievances in petitions to the king

● William and Mary consented to these changes HOLY ()

● Protestant Reformation had destabilized Germany ● 1555: Peace of Augsburg- each in the (HRE) could determine his subjects’ religion ● However, Protestants and Catholics were still wary of one another ● 1618-1648- Thirty Years War ○ Began in 1618 when Ferdinand II, a Catholic Hapsburg ruler, closed Protestant churches in - Protestants there revolted, crushed by Ferdinand’s Catholic forces ○ For 30 years, Catholics and Protestants battled ○ Ended when France, wanting to weaken the Catholic Hapsburgs, came to the aid of the Protestants HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE (GERMANY)

● Important effects of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) ○ Hapsburg states of Spain and Austria were weakened ○ France was strengthened, received some German territory ○ German became independent of the Holy Roman ○ Ended religious wars in Europe ○ Introduced a new method of peace negotiation where participants meet to settle the problems of war and decide on terms of peace (still used today) ○ Abandoned the idea of a Catholic empire ruling Europe ○ Recognized Europe as a group of equal, independent states (marking the beginning of the modern state system) CENTRAL/

● States formed more slowly in Central/Eastern Europe than in : ○ Landowning aristocracy prevented serfs from gaining freedom ○ Aristocrats also put serious limits on kings ○ Central/Eastern Europe did not participate in the Commercial Revolution and Age of Exploration as Western Europe had, thus had slower economies ● CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE

● Two German-speaking families attempted to become more powerful in the 17th-18th centuries:

○ AUSTRIA- Hapsburg rulers ruled over a diverse population of , , , Croatians, and ; Hapsburgs ruled over Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia, keeping the empire together

○ - Hohenzollern family created a strong, disciplined army and a highly militarized society CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE

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